MIT LMF Fall 2023 Report

Summary 

Hello, this is Vivian, the LMF historian again on the LMF blog! Unfortunately, this fall semester was busy, so I didn't do much as a historian. Now that the semester is over, however, I have more time and hope to do more things as historian for the 2024 spring semester. Overall, this semester was great and many events happened in four months. 

New GRAs

We started the 2023-2024 academic year with two new GRAs, Miguel and Irene. Miguel is currently a physics PhD student, while Irene is a research technician at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. They are great GRAs, as they have hosted cheese and fruit study breaks and other fun events. 

Slang 

The most popular phrases people in LMF say include skill issue, cook, giving, etc. Alfonso '24 came up with the pun "skrill issue" and made an illustration that is now a custom Slack reaction sticker on our Slack channel. We also had the beloved "I want to krill myshelf" whale illustration on the board in the quiet lounge that sadly got erased. 

:skrill-issue: Slack custom sticker design, courtesy of Alfonso 

The beloved whale illustration  

LMF Slack Culture 

Going back to the custom "skrill issue" sticker, we also now have more custom LMF stickers that include the following people: 

Dien '24 for :drippy_dien: 

 

Alfonso '24 for :drip: 

Kimi '24 for :kimi_moment: 

Lila '25 for :gottablast: 

 LMF IM Soccer Team 

We gathered a dozen of LMF residents to form an intramural soccer team this fall! The last time we participated in IM was before COVID (League and badminton), so it is nice we are reviving the old LMF tradition of playing intramural sports. Melissa '24 helped form the team and coached residents on soccer. Overall, we had a great season with some wins!  

Pole 

In October, we purchased a pole and installed it near the menu pantry shelf in the kitchen. The pole isn't used all the time, but a couple of residents enjoy spinning on it and learning some tricks on the pole, which makes it a good way to relieve stress. 

Teo '26 and the rest of LMF installing the pole 

New Quiet Lounge 

Acquiring the new pole in the LMF kitchen meant moving one of the tables in the kitchen somewhere else, so we decided to place the table in the elevator lounge near the stairway exit. It's a great workspace and now the formerly empty board is filled with lively illustrations, words, equations, etc. 

Dien '24 diligently studying 

Mystery chart on the elevator lounge whiteboard 

Pumpkin Social 

The LMF social chairs hosted a pumpkin social in mid. October! Besides pumpkin carving, people made the following pumpkin recipes: 

• Creamy roasted pumpkin soup
• Pumpkin gochujang pasta
• Afghan pumpkin with yogurt and tomato sauce
• Pumpkin pie ice cream 
• Roasted pumpkin seeds 

Carved pumpkins 

Pumpkin pie 

Anson's Chart

Anson '26 started weekly charts on his whiteboard asking residents to put pins on the MIT campus map as a response to the question. Here are some of these charts: 

 

 

In November and December, the whiteboard now has Cartesian coordinates to plot ourselves. Some of  these charts can be found down below: 

LMF Wedding 

Jesse '18 and David '20 got married at the Museum of Science in late October! The wedding guests included recent LMF alums from the Class of 2018 to 2023. Keeping up with the LMF alum tradition, they sent us a postcard from their honeymoon in the South Padre Islands. We can't wait to hear other LMF weddings in the future :) 

Jesse and David married on 10/27/23 

Retreat 

A group of 15 LMF people went to Alton Bay, NH during the Veteran's Day long weekend! There were a total of three cars, each having their own itineraries. Some hiked at Mount Major while others went to Salem. The night at the cabin consisted of various activities, including playing games like Cards Against Humanity and roasting marshmallows at the fire pit. It is definitely an experience that won't be forgotten.

 LMF retreat dinner in the cabin 

LMF residents at the campfire roasting marshmallows 

LMF retreat 2023 group picture. Top row (left to right): Lowell '26, Alfonso '24, Kimi '24, Dien '24, Clara '24, Ivy '24, Nicole '24, Locke '27, Kailyn '26, Tobi '26. Bottom row (left to right): Bayo '24, Fiona '24, Greta '27, Vivian '25 

Iconic Menus 

Some menus that stood out this semester was Dien's pho menu and Kimi's dim sum menu. Dien's pho menu required preparation 24 hours in advance, as the pho broth needed to be on the stove for a long time. While we don't record attendance, Dien's menu was probably the highest attendance (30 or more people). Logistically, it was kind of challenging because it required a lot of bowls instead of plates, but it was still an excellent meal. 

Kimi's menu had the most dishes, as it was Kimi's senior menu. The menu had the following dishes: 

• Egg tart
• Sticky rice 
• Spare ribs
• Chicken feet 
• Tripe
• Tofu
• Chive pockets
• Siu mai
• Dumplings
• Smashed cucumbers
• Turnip cake

To prepare all these dishes, preparation started as early as 2 to 3 days before cook team on Monday. Not only that, but also a lot of people outside of cook team helped out with early preparation. Everyone enjoyed the diverse offerings as well as the food's delicious taste. 

Dîner de Nöel 

This year's Dîner was a success! We had lots of yummy dishes, such as the Buche de Noel and matcha cakes. One unforgettable part of Dîner was when Anson '26 revealed his gift for Eileen '26, the current LMF food steward. Anson first exited the Macgregor dining room, then ran back with a large poster of "Kim Ay Leen" (parody of Kim Jong Un) with a word bubble that said "Submit! Your! Menu!" The whole scene caused everyone to burst out laughing. 

The iconic poster now sits outside our quiet lounge 

Conclusion 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post! Thank you LMF residents for taking pictures, especially Anson!  While the role of the LMF historian is relatively new, I think it is a great idea moving forward that future historians write a summary of each semester to document some memorable events that happened in LMF. I know that I can't capture every single moment in a single blog, but I hope I was able to highlight some important events here. 

Things I Will Miss about Taiwan

It's not even the last week of MISTI Taiwan, but I already know what I will miss about Taiwan. There are too many things to list. I look forward to returning to MIT because I miss the Charles, the four seasons, Boston, and the people at MIT. I simply can't have the best of both worlds, as much as I wish. After I graduate, I plan to stay in the U.S. I don't see myself living in Asia after graduation unless I am working at an international company and the pay is similar to the U.S. I have adjusted to life in Taiwan, but I guess life in the U.S. is more comfortable for me. 

The various things I will miss about Taiwan can be divided into the following categories: food, people, culture, everyday life, and language. 

Food 

Food in the U.S. isn't bad per se, but as a college student, I eat on a budget in the U.S., which means eating the same cooked lunch six days in a row (not that it has to be like that, but it's cheaper and easier), eating the same breakfast of oatmeal and apples, finding free food if possible, you get the idea. In Taiwan, however, I can buy something different every day for lunch and dinner partly because of the number of options and how cheap the food is relative to the U.S. I am going to miss the simple things that people in Taiwan find to be ordinary, whether it is freshly made rice milk in the local breakfast shop or eating passion fruit. Some things don't exist in the U.S., or if they do, they aren't easy to find.  

There are yummy things in the U.S. for sure, but I think what makes food in Taiwan more meaningful to me is the memories it carries, especially ones of my childhood as I lived here before. Tofu pudding makes me think of the local shop I ate at after dinner with my family. The ginger taste that lingers on my tongue after drinking sweet potato soup reminds me of my mom's cooking in Taiwan. Also, it makes me feel more connected to my cultural identity, as Taiwanese cuisine has a lot of overlap with Chinese cuisine. There's this sense of feeling rooted and secured to a place, I suppose, which I don't quite feel as much in the U.S. 

People 

I really appreciate the warmth and friendly nature of the Taiwanese. My lab mates are quiet, but if I have a question, they are happy to help me. The people I encounter in public whether it is the 7-11 cashier or the train station manager are very approachable and are happy to help. I find it amusing that the first question some of them ask me is where I am from because my accent is obviously not Taiwanese. Maybe it is because I am a foreigner, but the people here are pretty curious about life in the U.S. and ask a lot of questions. The service here is excellent, whether it is my experience on the airplane or exchanging currency at the mall. They know how to do hospitality well. 

My brain is probably biased, but I feel like I notice more conversations with store owners and customers here versus in the U.S. There are lots of franchise shops in Taiwan, but there are also a lot of family-owned businesses like restaurants that have lasted for decades and are still running. I really like seeing these interactions because it reminds me of how frequent small encounters over time can build up to something quite nice. I wish I saw this more in shops in the U.S. Perhaps I need to look more carefully next time. 

Culture 

One cool thing about living in Taiwan is the coexistence of old traditions and modernity, which I don't experience that much in the U.S. Some people may find embracing old traditions to go against or contradict modern life, but I disagree. For instance, a lot of people still go to the temple to pray and burn incense. In night markets and some streets, there are some people who do fortune-telling by analyzing your Chinese name or using a "God bird." I just find it nice that some cultural and religious traditions have endured for thousands of years. 

As someone who strongly values my cultural identity, coming to Taiwan was very beneficial in teaching me various aspects of Chinese culture, whether it was looking at Chinese art in the National Palace Museum or walking around the Lin Family Garden. Being immersed in this environment definitely made me practice my reading, speaking, and writing skills more, which I barely use in the U.S. When I was in the U.S., I was concerned that I was forgetting my roots and culture, so I was happy to come to Taiwan because I viewed the trip as a pilgrimage to learn more things about my culture. 

Likewise, it is nice that traditional Chinese holidays are celebrated here. Unfortunately, my time in Taiwan is only for the summer, so I can't go to the Pingxi Lantern Festival or other holiday events. In late June, however, I got to see the Dragon Boat Festival for the first time and it was fun seeing how they held the boat race. 

Everyday Life 

This one is hard to explain, but I think I will miss some intangible parts of life in Taiwan that I can't quite articulate. It's hard to describe it to someone unless one gets a glimpse of my life here, which consists of walking the same alley from the apartment to the lab, passing by the local shops, etc. Taipei is indeed a busy city, as there are tons of major technology companies near where I live (HP, Intel, IBM, etc.), yet I feel like the pace of life in Taipei can also be slower if one chooses such a pace. Perhaps it has to do with where I live, but it's nice to see the elderly doing their morning exercise in the park, parents talking outside the tutoring center, children on bikes, etc. On the other hand, living in MIT feels much busier and the separation of work life and personal life isn't as obvious. 

I will also miss the stores here, even the stores I never went inside. There's this atmosphere that is distinct, whether it is hearing Taiwanese songs in the local dumpling shop or seeing a cat calmly sitting on the counter of a books and coffee shop. In other words, I will miss the essence. 

Language 

Unlike Mandarin spoken in Mainland China, Mandarin in Taiwan has some slight differences. It's nice to hear the local dialect (Taiwanese, which is based on Hokkien) in daily conversations because it makes a place feel more local, if that makes any sense. Kind of like how in the U.S. there are slight differences in accents and words depending on which region you are in, such as the Midwest or the South. 

I don't know any Hokkien, but I picked up a few words, such as pai sei, which is the same as saying sorry, but in a context where saying sorry isn't for something serious. Think of pai sei in Mandarin as 不好意思 (bu hao yi si), a word someone would say if they felt embarrassed for causing a mistake or extra trouble. On a less serious note, I also understood why some local Taiwanese swear words in Mandarin are pronounced the way they are. You can search them up on the internet if you are curious, but essentially they sound very similar to the Hokkien pronunciation. 

I guess this could fall under the people category, but there's something about the Taiwanese accent I like. Their pronunciation of certain sounds like zh/ch/sh isn't accurate, but it's the distinctness that makes a place feel more unique. One thing I noticed is that the people here speak more gently and soft, which I also like. 

I think something that I will miss most in terms of the language ties in with the culture. In Taiwan, I learned that instead of referring to my older lab colleagues (postdocs, research associates, technicians) by their first name, it is better to call them 學姐 (xue jie) for a woman and 學長 (xue zhang) for a man. I can't find a good translation of 學姐, but it's literally "school sister." For 學長, the Oxford English-Chinese dictionary gives me "fellow student." Here, people call their PIs 老師, which is "teacher." It is considered rude to call someone older by their first name, which is very different from the U.S. as the purpose of calling a PI or older person by their first name is to come off as less intimidating. Personally, I like the culture of calling older people by a formal title because it is a way to show respect and admiration. 

Somehow, it feels endearing when older people in public here call me 妹妹 (mei mei), from the hairdresser to a lady sitting next to me at the bus stop. In Chinese, 妹妹 means little sister. Obviously, I am not related to them by blood, yet the term is comforting to hear. Typically, people call young women in their 20s to 30s 小姐（xiao jie), which is the equivalent of Miss. I guess I am not considered old enough to be called 小姐, as some people probably think of me as an awfully big kid, which is fine with me. While it is common for people to use the word 小姐 in Taiwan, in Mainland China, it is considered rude because it is a euphemism for "prostitute." Therefore, one should use 姑娘 (gu niang). Going back to the subject, I am going to miss these small things in Taiwan. I don't know why, but I actually wish I heard more of this in the U.S.

Conclusion 

I am not sure how to conclude this blog post, but all I want to say is that there are so many facets of Taiwan I am going to miss. I think the nostalgia will be less compared to the time I moved from Taiwan to the U.S. because I also miss some aspects of MIT life, but I will still think back to these random moments of this summer. I wish I had an answer as to when will be the next time I can visit Taiwan, but I don't know. Hopefully sometime in the near future. 

Things in Taiwan that the U.S. Should Have

It is my second month living in Taipei, and there are some things about Taiwan that I really wish existed in the U.S., from the awesome street food to the public transportation here. Of course, there are some things in the U.S. that I like that I can't find in Taiwan, like English books in bookstores and libraries, but there are some things about Taiwan that I will truly miss when I head back to campus. 

Convenience Stores 

Convenience stores in Taiwan are one of the greatest inventions of mankind. In a small store, a lot of essential items are packed in one place, whether it is your favorite snack or a raincoat you need last minute. They don't waste extra space selling things people don't need, as too many choices can lead to decision paralysis. I really appreciate how well-organized the convenience stores are, as no signage is needed. 

Besides the standard food and drinks, convenience stores also sell some personal health goods like sunscreen and basic office supplies like pens. If the convenience store has extra space, they have a couple of tables for you to sit and relax, which is very nice if you are waiting somewhere for a while or the weather is bad outside and you have nowhere to go, or you just want to eat some soft serve ice cream with your friend while waiting for the bus. The convenience store is a safe haven during the hot summers because you can walk in, linger around for five minutes to cool down, then go outside again. 

An interesting thing about the convenience stores here is that they are open 24/7, even during typhoons. So if you want to pull an all-nighter outside for some reason, consider staying in a convenience store. If you are sad after a breakup and it's midnight and you have nowhere to go, go to Family Mart (this is based on J.J. Lin's music video for She Says, not real life). There is literally a convenience store every 250 meters or so, the most common ones being 7-11 and Family Mart. I don't really have a strong preference for either two, but I do have fond memories of this big Family Mart near my bilingual school as there was some nice seating and a patio. 

While there are 7-11s in the U.S., it's a different vibe from the ones in Taiwan. There are pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens that sell snacks and drinks, but there's something about the small, compact, and warm nature of convenience stores in Taiwan that I like more. 

This Insider article does a good job explaining why Taiwan 7-11s are much better than American ones. 

Food Courts 

If I had to rank the food courts in the U.S., I would give them a 5/10. And I am already being fairly generous with my ratings. Some of the factors behind this rating are biased, of course, as I like eating Chinese food or Asian food more than Western food. But some of it is also objective. 

You see, if you go to a food court in a suburban mall in America or in an airport or train station, the options feel somewhat limited. These places may have good dining options, but they tend to be expensive and sit-in restaurants. There's the standard fast food like Mcdonald's or KFC that sell unhealthy, low-quality food. On the other hand, some chains are healthier, like Chipotle and Sweetgreen. From my experience, the food is ok, but I wouldn't say delicious. And the prices are nowadays at least $10 for a meal. For instance, when I went to the Moynihan Train Hall in New York's Penn Station, the only food vendors I was ok with were Chopt and a falafel shop. Part of it is my problem because I am kind of picky. The other options were burgers, pizza, sushi, or ramen, but I wasn't very into those options. 

In the Taiwan food courts, there is an abundance of options. My experience here has been pretty positive, whether it was at Taipei Main Station or Taipei 101. The malls also do a wonderful job. Each food stall specializes in one thing, such as noodles or vegetarian food. If you don't like the first twenty options you see, you at least might like one of the last five you walk by. Another huge plus is that the food tastes better and is priced quite well. A nice thing is that a lot of the shops sell a set meal that includes a starch (white rice or noodles), vegetables on the side, a meat or veg protein, and soup. Therefore, you aren't going to worry where's your daily source of fiber or veggies. 

If you take a look at the links and compare the American ones with the Taiwanese ones, then I think you get the idea. 

Another cool thing about the food courts in Taipei is that some are right next to the MRT station exits. For example, one exit of Taipei City Hall leads you to the basement of Uni-Style Mall, and if you walk an extra minute, you reach the basement of the Eslite Mall. The underground tunnel system here is amazing and I don't think I have encountered this in the U.S. as much, probably because the Taipei MRT system is younger than the NYC Subway. If you are hungry on your commute and want to take a break, just exit the station and walk for two minutes. There are also lots of souvenir/gift stores and a diverse range of drink options like coffee and tea. 

Boba Shops 

I already covered a lot about food above under food courts, but I will just say it is amazing to get your standard pearl milk tea with boba for under $60 NT ($2 USD). The fruit teas here are also amazing, with prices as low as $45 NT ($1.50 USD). The low price is honestly the only reason I am much more willing to drink boba once a week instead of say once a month, which isn't probably the best for my health but oh well I only have 80 days in Taiwan. The density of boba shops is so high here that it's insane, unlike us MIT students that only have a lonely Tea-Do in a 1-mile radius. 

Transportation 

I kind of touched upon how the metro here does a good job connecting exits to underground malls, but I haven't quite described the experience of commuting here. For context, I live on the border of the city, which means that the closest MRT station for me is the Nangang Exhibition Center, which is the last station on the blue line (eastern most). Fortunately, my lab is a ten-minute walk, so I only commute if I plan to explore the city or eat a meal with some MIT friends in the center of the city. 

Where I am for reference 

The walk to the MRT station is 15 minutes for me, but if I am in a rush, there's Youbike, which is much easier to dock and lighter compared to Bluebikes. Each ride is $5 NT, which rounds to 17 cents (1 USD is around 30 NT). If the weather's bad, there are like 6 buses I can take, which means an average wait time of five minutes. Each bus route is different, but for a decent chunk of the route, it's the same thing as they follow some major roads. Therefore, it doesn't really matter which bus I take if I am going from my lab to the MRT station, as the path is following a road from south to north. What I like about the buses here is that each station has a live indicator of the wait time, which sadly doesn't exist in Boston. 

My experience riding the MRT here has also been very positive. The floors are spotless, partly because people actually follow the rule of no eating or drinking in the subway cars. The stations are also pretty clean because of the janitors and each station has bathrooms. The wait time is on average 1-2 minutes on weekdays, and on weekends 2-3 minutes. Delays are pretty rare here, which is another plus. 

Night Markets and Food Stalls 

There are so many food stalls here that it's great, usually located near exits of MRT stations or near some major intersection. Some sell local desserts, while others sell quick meals or drinks like juice or tea. I wish this was more of a thing in the U.S., especially food stalls that are still active at night cause sometimes I get hungry after dinner. 

The night market culture here is a unique aspect of Taiwan's nightlife. Even on weekdays at 9 PM, there are tons of people lining up for food and the night markets can feel pretty crowded. While it is true that food safety and quality aren't going to be the same as what you would find in restaurants, the experience is quite fun. The whole stretch of the night market is around 400-500 meters, so it takes a while to walk through the whole thing because of the slow pace. Like the food courts I described, there are so many options in the night markets that if you were to eat everything you wanted in a single meal, you probably wouldn't need to eat for another day. 

Some night market food in Taiwan can be found in Chinatowns in the U.S. like beef noodles or xiaolongbao, but there are some things I don't see that often in the U.S. or are almost nonexistent, especially oyster omelettes and peanut ice cream wraps. I can go on and on about how eating a peanut ice cream wrap in the Shilin night market was one of the most mind-blowing experiences in my life. I am not exaggerating when I say that. Essentially, there's a crepe-like wrap with two scoops of Taiwanese ice cream (more like sorbet versus dairy), with shavings of peanut on top of the ice cream. Sometimes, people add cilantro to the wrap. If I talked about each food I ate here (aiyu jelly, taro balls, wheel cakes, etc.) that I enjoyed, then this blog post would be too long, so I will stop here. 

And can I just add one last thing about how awesome it is that the Michelin guide here reviews street food and restaurants under a $10 budget? I wonder when Boston will have its own Michelin guide... 

Top: taro and sweet potato balls. Bottom: Fu Hang Soy Milk (Michelin bib gourmand!) 

Conclusion 

I didn't expect this blog post to be so long, but basically, a lot of things that I will miss about Taiwan is the food. Besides the food, I will also miss how nice the public transportation system is here. I just can't have the best of both places, unfortunately. 

Impressions of Taipei

It is crazy that I have been in Taiwan for over a month. Before flying from JFK to TPE, I had misgivings and worried too much about whether I would survive the flight and other things. I felt so comfortable living in the U.S. and didn't want to leave Boston. But there was a reason I wanted to MISTI Taiwan in the first place, which was going back to Taiwan and visiting some parts of my past.

A picture I took with a hazy Taipei 101 in the background 

Getting a SIM card at the airport was difficult, but exchanging currency and other matters worked out fine. The journey was smoother for me since I lived in Taiwan as a kid for a while. Also, my Chinese reading and speaking ability is quite good for getting around places in Taiwan.  

Currently, I am conducting research at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the Academia Sinica in Taipei, which is like the NIH in the U.S. Academia Sinica consists of many labs covering different fields from biology to chemistry to the humanities. My project focuses on improving drug delivery for cancer by using antibodies and PEGs. This project is more interesting than the UROPs I did at MIT. Unlike previous UROPs, this one has forced me to do a lot of self-learning about how to design experiments and read protocols online. It's something that I am not used to, but probably will be good for me in the long run. On some days, however, I don't have anything to do. If I have nothing to do, I prepare for internships next year, like writing cover letters, editing my resume, or reading online resources. 

During the weekends, I spend my time exploring Taipei. Although I lived in Taipei for two years in middle school, my memories became hazy over time, so I revisited key landmarks like the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall and Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. I also went to other attractions like Taipei 101 and the National Palace Museum. A week ago, I got to explore Longshan Temple and Ximen with Karen '26, which was super fun and I got to know Karen better from the excursion. 

Karen and I at Longshan Temple 

Living in Taipei has its pros and cons, just like any other place. When I feel sad or lonely, I sometimes wish I was in the U.S., though such thoughts aren't very helpful because it's not like I can teleport and go back to MIT. But when I am in a good mood, I am happy that I am in Taiwan. Despite having lived in Taiwan as a child, some observations I made of the place feel new. I was pleased that the streets have been pretty clean with no strong odors, as my recollections somehow made this aspect of Taiwan worse than it actually is. When I lived in Taiwan, I didn't recall that many garbage cans around places, which made things super inconvenient. In my neighborhood, however, there are quite a few garbage cans, and people do a good job of recycling and being accountable for their trash. 

I remember Taiwan being humid, but I forgot what it felt like to leave the nicely air-conditioned office building and then walk out with the humidity feeling like a wave that hit you. It took me around a week or two to get used to the humidity. If there's one thing I miss about the U.S., it is the weather. I find it hilarious that my weather app forecast says rain and thunderstorm for the next 7 to 10 days all the time, with a couple exceptions here and there. While the rain makes the environment feel cooler, the rain here is so unpredictable it is frustrating because I can't really plan for say a rainy day or a sunny day. Even the intensity of the rain varies a lot. Sometimes it rains so hard that an umbrella won't be of much help. 

Even though the weather here isn't as ideal, one interesting thing I noticed is that I don't miss the food in the U.S. at all. Not even burritos or falafel or donuts. Sure, these foods are yummy, but I guess they don't carry a lot of stories or nostalgia compared to what I ate in Taiwan. Eating fruits like passion fruit, wax apple, and guava brought me so much joy that it felt so strange. I never had a gastronomic experience in which eating something so simple and ordinary made me so happy. I loved how the sour yet sweet passion fruit juice and seeds made my tongue tickle with delight and how the wax apple had the right balance of sweetness and crispness. These are fruits that I didn't eat in the U.S. partly because they were so expensive and not fresh. Another wonderful experience I had was having lots of local street food and drinks, such as soy milk and mango shaved ice. 

Beef noodle soup, xiaolongbao at Din Tai Fung, and oyster omelet 

In my opinion, the best thing about coming to Taiwan is the culinary experience. There are so many options in the night markets and streets that it is overwhelming, from tofu pudding to grass jelly to stinky tofu. Maybe I haven't looked carefully enough when I explored Chinatowns in the U.S., but it's honestly not that easy to find some local Taiwanese dishes abroad, such as hujiao bing ( 胡椒餅）and oyster omelet (蚵仔煎）. I thought a lot of my nostalgia about Taiwan would also include niche stores, but I realized that a lot of my nostalgia had to do with food. 

Another benefit of living in Taiwan is that I get to practice my Chinese and be immersed in the local culture. I learned a lot of Chinese idioms and slang from my housemate and in return, I taught her some English words. It's a good exchange. I also enjoy conversing with the locals here because they are very curious about life in the U.S. and what's it like being a Chinese overseas. From my interactions in my apartment and lab, I learned a lot about current events in Taiwan as well as other cultural things, such as placing Kuai Kuai (乖乖）corn puffs on top of machines in the hopes that the machines won't break. In Chinese, 乖乖 (guai guai in Hanyu Pinyin) means obedient. It's funny that I never noticed this when I lived here even though the phenomenon was a thing ten years ago. 

What I mean by Kuai Kuai tech culture 

I will be in Taiwan until mid-August and I can't wait to explore more places in Taipei and around Taipei. I have at least twenty more items on my food bucket list to check off before I fly back. 

4177's Unhinged Charts (Part II Electric Boogaloo)

 Wowee Zowees! It's summer! Yippeeee!

Isn't it interesting that a forty-hour work week feels like a vacation compared to MIT classes? Oh to have free time! For the first time in months, I am finding myself without work, and what better way to spend me time than to continue our saga oif unhinged charts?

I love the image of walking into a room, looking someone dead in the eyes and saying, "you're tiny."

Egads. What a start. To call this a "chart" is a bit of a stretch, but in my opinion, the creative potential offered by a black slate of a story is greater than any chart can offer. Each passer-by was given the option to add as many panels as their hearts desired, leading to an... interesting series of events. 

Our story began with what I thought was going to be a rushed MIT student, waking up (as any good student should), four minutes past the start of their dreadfully early 10 am lecture. However, upon their recollection that they don't give a shit they do the healthy thing and continue sleeping. Presumably a few hours later, when a second party arrive to awak ehtme, they find themselves in a shrunken state.What has happened to our protagonist? Twas the curse of the red sun (duh!) that caused the unfortunate shrincage. To which their friend, as only a tru bestie could, answers with, "You're tiny," and "That's what she said." A true beacon of friendship. 

Meanwhile on Jupiter...

Waaaaaaaaa!!! Guinea pig??????? A natural progression to our story. This is no run-of-the-mill guinea pig, but a guinea pig super villian who has concocted an evil scheme to turn earth to broccoli! Devious. And, as all great stories do, we end this one in a cliff hanger, our tiny hero about to enjoy their now larger than life breakfast when they are suddently broccoli-ified. What happens next? Are they doomed to live forever as a minute broccoli? Will our brassica-enthoused guinea pig be stopped?

That, dear reader, is for you to decide. 

Count them, not one, not two, but three sexuel innuendos in one chart. Can you tell we are college students?

Our next entree is a wee more traditional, ranking vegetables from F to S. Broccoli (mispelled as usual), is obviously S-tier, onions make a solid showing in A tier, featuring a Shrek refernece, and what chart would be complete without potatos and the famous words of Samwise Gamgee? Our chart also features instructions for the perfect corn on the cob, which unfortunatly only made it to a single French house menu (that I may or may not have cheffed). Finally, we have cabbage steaks, a dish that Lowell 26' swears by, but whose position on the chart reflects our house's reluctance to try. A simple cut of cabbage lathered in oil and seasonings, roasted to perfection. As a vegetarian myself, I am intrigued by this preposition, and perhaps I'll bully next years food stewards into allowing me to include cabbage steaks as the protein for a future menu (who thought it was a good idea to let me cook?).

"Dame la banana" is quite possibly the silliest thing I ever written on a white board, and that's saying something.

What better to follow a ranking of vegetables than one of fruits? We love our fruits here in French House, and almost everything B tier and above is well-liked by the general population. The relative lack of unhinged arrows marks a lack of controversy in these rankings. Fruit's good. Simple as that. 

Of all the charts to have up during CPW...

Dear reader, we have arrieved at the peak, le creme de le creme of 2023's charts, a time capsule into the stressed, sleep-deprived minds of LMFs residents in early April. I have, on several ocassions, read this chart after the fact just for shits and giggles, and, dear reader, I recommend you pause and do the same.

In the not so new New House next to Next House there is a funky fresh community known as French House. LMF is a bussin' place, with many Harvard students who are illegal immigrants. Characterized by a broccoli-full menu system, LMF dinners are intriguing and bopping, but the residents of LMF are too drunkj to admit their kitchen is the most swanky on campus. With a diverse membership, LMF's members hail from all over the world, including ur mom and ur dad. Despite this, 20.27% of members can actually speak French. There is a plethora of majors at LMF, from math to cs-flavored math, the most common being selling one's soul for the promise of a 100k+ starting salary. For fun, LMF loves to dry-scoop and say, "So true!"  Once, some members even almost got bitches! Generally, LMF is sus and when Sally Kornbluth was asked what she thought of LMF, she replied, "Let them cook." *

A masterwork if I've ever seen one. I plan to continue my unhinged chart antics next year, but I have yet to come up with something to top this beauty. 

Alfonso 24' "I appreciate the graph depicting the trend of goodness-of-idea vs. # of cheeky Smirnoffs."

Vivian 25' "Yes seems like 10 is the prime then after that it's bad."
 Teo 26' "We also depict the process of vomiting and resetting the counter. You thought you had a function when in reality you had a x^2+y^2=r^2."

Here we have LMF at its most unhinged, what started as good advice like getting eight hours of sleep or not walking on the Charles when it's frozen, quickly devolving into the circle of binge drinking, a jab at La Sportiva's Solutions (I stand by their placement on this chart, those spherical heels are not helping anyone send), two Magic the Gathering references, and 8.012 again for some reason. Watching this chart as we moved into finals season was something else, I feel like the true story cannot be told without a third axis to represent the passage of time. 

Well, dear reader, we have arrived at the end of our story, for that is all the charts that were charted this year. But fear not, next year I will return, with even stupider, less hinged, and generally more rambunctious ratings, rantings, and bits. 

For now, I salute you for making it this far,

Au prochain!

* As the writer of this last bit, I had to select from a few quotes, including "Who?", "I'll say whatever you want, just don't hurt my children", "Aw yes, the biggest problem facing the MIT community", "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around, desert you."  

History of the LMF Cow (La Vache Folle)

When I joined French House as a social member in freshman year, I wondered why the mascot for LMF was a cow given that the national animal of France is the Gallic rooster. In the 2021-2022 school year, our shirt was a geometric rooster, whereas in previous years there was the LMF cow. One theory was that LMF consumes so much dairy (butter, milk, etc.) for baking, so obviously the animal was a cow. It was a good theory, but I needed more information to determine the origins of the iconic LMF cow. 

The beloved LMF cow logo from our website 

How I discovered the story of the LMF cow was by accident when I did my interviews this semester as the LMF historian. Each person I interview is different, though I tend to ask the same sort of questions based on a document I made. One question I ask is, "Did people meet their future spouse at LMF?" When I asked a group of people from the early 00s, Keith '03 mentioned that Melanie '02 and Jim '01 are married, Jim being the guy who designed the cow. It was good to know the person who drew the cow and know that this cow has been part of LMF ever since its birth. 

Though Jim did not sign up for an interview, I did get to interview Kevin '99, who overlapped with Jim. I eventually got the answer from Jim, but I asked Kevin first if he remembered anything about the story. The response was quite delightful. Before the LMF cow logo, LMF designed a cow-themed shirt that said "je parle français comme une vache espagnole." The literal English translation of this idiom is "to speak French like a Spanish cow," which is a nice way of saying that someone's French is incomprehensible. 

I later got a reply from Jim that slightly differed from Kevin's recollection of the cow: 

Hi Vivian, this is a fun question but I'm not sure I have a satisfying answer. I think it was a whiteboard doodle that made people laugh and we reproduced it on signs and t-shirts... I like Kevin's explanation and it seems plausible but my memories of undergrad are spotty due to chronic sleep deprivation 😂

The answer was simpler than what I thought, but I am still glad I learned about the origins of the LMF cow that is on our website, merch, boards, and even our Gmail account for this Blogspot (lavachefolle.lmf@gmail.com)! 

LMF 2022-2023 Historian Report

Introduction: 

If you read the previous blog post titled "Events that Defined the 2022-2023 School Year," you probably already know who I am. But I will just reintroduce myself here briefly again. I am Vivian, the current LMF historian, a role that's pretty new as I started in January 2023. Previously, I was the MIT ESP (Educational Studies Program) historian and wanted to do something like that, but for LMF. I was curious to know how different LMF was in the past and how LMF changed from its early beginnings in 1974 to now. I also wanted to get to know LMF alums better because I find it unfortunate to see information get lost over time. 

After interviewing over a dozen of people from all the decades, I have gathered some information about LMF in the past. While some things have changed such as the amount of French spoken in the house, some things have stayed the same such as our cooking system. 

Findings:

French Language/Culture: 

For most of LMF history, entering members were expected to come in knowing how to speak some French. French was spoken during dinner unless there was a guest and at meetings. Past education chairs also enforced French marathons for immersion purposes. Around the late 00s to early 10s, however, being proficient in French was no longer a strict requirement for incoming residents. What mattered was whether residents had an interest in learning French. In the 2010s, the number of people who spoke French declined, with Sasha '16 saying that when she entered, she estimated it to be around 50% and by the time she graduated, it went down to around 25% (these are all approximations). Avi '18 also said that when he joined, French was more enforced. For instance, major emails were written in English and French, but this became less consistent over his time at LMF. 

Nowadays, French House pretty much speaks English, though Kate '25 tried implementing the concept of "5 minutes of French" during dinner last year. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out so well as it was met with awkward silence for half of the residents who didn't know French. 

In the future, I hope that we can reintroduce more French into LMF and encourage others to become budding Francophiles. Currently, there's a French expression of the week (thanks Teo '26) as well as a French piece of the week (something I started). Practicing some conversation starters and vocabulary at dinner would be a plus and help people like me with French pronunciation. 

Cooking Culture: 

This aspect of French House has remained constant except for some minor changes due to advances in technology like online food ordering. For most of LMF history, there was only one designated shopper (ministre de aliments) but sometime around the mid-2010s, LMF decided to have two food stewards, with Avi '18 and Sarah '17 being the first pair. Ever since then, this role involves two people. 

In the early days, groceries were purchased at the Stop N Shop on Memorial Drive that's now replaced by a Microcenter. Then, they were delivered back to the dorm by calling a taxi. The grocers we used have changed over time as we initially used Sysco, but then switched to other stores like Stop N Shop, S.S. Pierce (now Seneca Foods), Roche Bros, and now Wegmans plus other online services like Weee and Instacart. 

In regards to cooking, nothing much has changed. Before renovations, LMF only had around 25 residents, so cook teams had around 4-5 people. After renovations, LMF expanded to 32 residents, so cook teams have expanded to 5-6 people. Each meal is expected to have a starch, veg protein, meat protein, vegetable, and a dessert or drink if possible. Like the old days, people rotate cheffing duties and prepare their own menus that then get reviewed by the food steward, cook team starts at 4 PM, and dinner is served at 6:15 PM. 

Outside of dinner, LMF's culture of baking has also remained strong as the concept of "sactab" (short for sacrificial table) has existed for quite a while in which people bake with communal ingredients and put sweets on a designated table. In the past, there were pause cafés in which freshly baked goods were made around 9 PM. While we don't have a designated pause café, we do have birthday surprises at 10 PM or dinner, which do make good study breaks. 

I find it nice that LMF's cooking tradition has persisted to this day and I hope it will be the case many years down the road because it is at these countless dinners that I get to know the people at LMF better. 

General Culture: 

From my interviews, it seems that LMF overall wasn't the floor in New House known for partying or being loud. Mary '04 called LMF the "milk and cookies dorm." However, it seems like there was some time during the 80s to 90s when LMF threw parties more often. Janice '85 said that LMF was very close with Spanish House at that time and would party a lot. Although the people in LMF have various interests and different personalities, some common things they share include a love for cooking/baking (food!) and an interest in French language/culture. Another common theme is that LMF is a tight-knit community. 

Traditions: 

In the past, intramurals were a much bigger thing in French House and we played against German House in sports like baseball and soccer. We also played intramurals with Spanish House. According to Christine '86, we sang La Marseillaise and waved the French flag at intramural hockey. We also had a semiformal distinct from Dîner for a while and a Halloween party that involved wearing costumes, carving pumpkins, and having a good time. Before Talbot House (an MIT retreat house) closed, LMF did a trip to Talbot House in Vermont. 

Layout/Renovations: 

Before renovations, French House used to have French-themed murals. The most iconic one was the green Metro sign where we took our yearbook group pictures in LMF merch. There was also a nice river mural in the kitchen and some cute ones like Asterix and Le Petit Prince. For some time, we had a very old fridge painted as Le Petit Larousse. One of the fridges was named "Le Frigo Violé" for an unknown reason. Prior to cell phones, there was a telephone closet where people called their families and loved ones. Given that New House has an interesting corridor/suite structure, some of the "suites" had nicknames at that time, such as la maisonette in the 2010s. 

German House: 

Before renovations relocated French House to the other side of New House (currently the fourth floor of towers 1,2,3), LMF had a stronger relationship with German House. Up until 2017, French House occupied the fourth and fifth floor of Tower 6, while German House occupied the bottom. The pranks were more prevalent prior to the 2010s that involved all sorts of things from invading German House to switching their TV channel to France 5. Back when WWII was not too far in the past, LMF would proudly march around German House on VE Day. Despite the pranks, French House and German House were friendly rivals and close. 

Nowadays, we sadly don't really contact German House that much, though it would be nice to host inter-house events like study breaks or even an exchange dinner. The lack of proximity definitely plays a factor. 

LMF Marriages: 

From my dozen or so interviews, there have been more than 10 LMF marriages over the past 50 years of history, which means that there's probably one LMF couple that ends up getting married during one's time at LMF. This is a rough estimate and is probably not super accurate. This number is of course an undercount since I didn't interview people from every year to keep track. A fun fact is that the earliest one is Jim and Barbara Miller '76. An even crazier fact is that there's a mom and daughter pair who both lived in LMF - Christine LeBeau '86 and Elisa Boles '18! 

Conclusion: 

While things have definitely changed quite a bit in LMF, some things have stayed the same, whether it is people describing LMF as a tight-knit community or having home-cooked meals six times a week. Doing these interviews with alums from all the decades was so fun and I can't wait to hear more funny stories when alums come back for Dîner. LMF's 50th anniversary will happen next year, so we definitely should start thinking about what to do. 

Links: 

If you are curious about what the current LMF looks like, you can check out our website here. While we do have a Facebook page, we use Instagram more often now. Interviews, pictures, and other relevant documents can be found in this Dropbox folder. 

4177's Unhinged Charts 2022-23 (Part I)

Well would you look at that; the blog is back online!

A kind thanks to Vivian 25' for re-opening LMF's blog, it is truly an exciting time to have nothing better to do. 

In her last post, Vivian mentioned a somewhat "quirky" and "chaotic" class of 2026, words that I, as a member of said class can only describe as a gross understatement.  For you see dear reader, we are a rowdy, unpredictable bunch, with interests and talents of all shapes and sizes. But rather than describe our class to you, I think I'll show it. 

You see, about halfway through the year, I realized I could write dumb things on the whiteboard in the elevator lounge outside my room, and, better yet, if so inclined, other passers-by would also write on said board. So were born the chaotic charts of 4177. At LMF, we like to draw charts, categorizing our members in a wholesome, community-building activity.

Ratatouille, Fois gras, Paris, Provence, où êtes-vous ?

The charts outside my room, are the same, but uhh... stupider. We began quite simply, ranking... things... on a scale from "Omegalul" to "BIG." It is not the first time the hellish 8.012 would appear, and the characteristic unhinged arrows really add flavor to this and future charts. This chart, originally spawned from a one-off bit with Alfonso 24', grew into a tradition after Tobi 26' and Kailyn 26' expressed their appreciation (upper right).

Featuring a jab at the Mexican national soccer team, the best equation of 18.06, and a correct opinion about the fingering of Bb on clarinet

We continued with a more informative chart, helpfully telling LMF that in terms of self-fulfillment, trebuchets >> 20-2 pineapples (ask Anson 26') >> sleep >> yo mama. To say the least, the lack of trebuchets (and lack of sleep) that endured in the house indicated that this chart was at least a little underappreciated.

Only those with the best taste will understand that Posy #3 > Posy #4

The next chart continued our efforts to aid our house, providing a helpful tier list of breakfast foods. Fun fact: this chart is correct, if you disagree then you are quite simply wrong. Waffles, apples, and tea were, accurately, placed above scrambled eggs, coffee, and hot chocky, and foods from England were, rightfully banished to the bottom of the whiteboard. The chart while popular, continued to be in vain, LMF continued to, on average, wake half an hour before lecture, mozzy over to the communal fridge to consume last night's rice and curry, and sprint to building 10 to catch the last ten minutes of class. Alas and alack, for the breakfast foods we crave are oftentimes skipped by the hosed MIT student.

To clarify, we don't actually hate Britain here. It's just a bit.

Well, that is all for the moment, tune in for next post, featuring five more idiotic charts, and the second half of my slow descent into madness.

Au revoir!

Events that Defined LMF in 2022-2023

Hello, this is Vivian, the LMF historian and secretary! I am a member of the Class of 2025 and a Course 6-7. It has been 32 months since someone wrote a blog on this website, the last one written by another Vivian from the Class of 2020. For some context, I appointed myself the role of historian this year as I wanted to do an LMF history project that involved interviewing alums and gathering various documents of the past (pictures, videos, etc.). While a substantial part of the LMF history project has been completed as I have interviewed over a dozen alums from the Class of 1978 to 2020, I still have work to do, including documenting memorable events during the school year. 

The 2022-2023 school year went by quickly, and we welcomed a fun Class of 2026 that made LMF livelier and somewhat more chaotic. Here are some notable events that we probably won't forget many years down the road, each having its own eccentricities. 

Events: 

Random Hall LMF Milk (10/27/22 Thursday): 

On Thursday afternoon, a plastic bottle containing very old milk exploded in the kitchen. The horrible stench filled up the entire kitchen, causing cook team to move to the country kitchen to cook dinner. It took around a day for the smell to go away, so the kitchen was pretty much off-limits for the rest of the night. LMF used a fan and odor eliminators to resolve the issue. 

Slack chat history of the milk incident

How did this happen in the first place? According to Melbourne '24, the current LMF president, "The milk was in Frigo 1 for about a month till the end of September. Then it was taken out for fridge cleaning and the owner was notified." For some unknown reason, the milk in the plastic bottle was left on the windowsill. Either the owner or the person cleaning the fridge forgot about it. Over time, this bottle was forgotten and people never really thought of this suspicious-looking bottle as a problem. After being under the sun for a long time, the color turned from white to brown over time, so people weren't aware that the bottle originally contained milk and instead thought it was some liquid containing fertilizer for plants. Also, the stench was well-kept inside the plastic bottle and never leaked until the day when too much gas buildup inside the bottle and then it exploded. 

While this milk incident is not the same as Random Hall milk since we never stored it for future generations of LMF, nevertheless it is indeed a very interesting incident. The main takeaway is that if you see something strange that's rotting or decomposing, just throw it away. No questions asked. What if there will be another similar situation to this one in the future? We hope not. 

Mysterious Paper Scraps (11/19/22 Saturday): 

On Saturday morning, LMF residents saw something unusual on the quiet lounge table: many tiny scraps of paper covered with Maela's name in small font. The event may have been done in reaction to Maela's name being on each tiny whiteboard outside each room in LMF. Not surprisingly, this event really concerned Maela. To determine who the person was, people in LMF wrote on the quiet lounge whiteboard the names of residents and did process of elimination. The culprit turned out to be Anson '26 and he confessed to doing this for amusement and fun. 

The Broccoli War (week of 2/10/23 Friday): 

The first week of the 2023 spring semester started off in a rather unusual way. A week before 2/10/23 Friday, Teo '26 hung up some interesting posters that said "prepare yourself" to build some anticipation for their broccoli-themed menu. Nothing much happened until a few days before Friday when there were big posters that involved taping many printed pieces of paper together to make a big picture from the broccoli mosaic virus to a long document generated by chatGPT declaring broccoli to be bad and illegal.

   The ChatGPT-generated law in various languages 

The moldy broccoli 

A fat X over Teo's broccoli drawing 

These large-scale posters were made by Anson '26. Teo '26 retaliated by drawing a comic about how good broccoli is on the big whiteboard near their room as well as writing about how broccoli should be celebrated in LMF on the whiteboard outside the kitchen. 

Inspired by the Bible 

Writing broccoli on people's board 

Despite Anson's opposition to broccoli, the broccoli-themed menu was a success. To celebrate broccoli, there were many green balloons that hung around the LMF kitchen and green streamers. The menu consisted of the following items: 

Protein: Broccoli Quiché

Starch: Broccoli Farfelle

Vegetable 1: Roast Parmesan Broccoli

Vegetable 2: Sautéed Chili Broccoli

Side: Broccoli Cream Soup

The broccoli dinner

Teo wearing the broccoli crown 

CPW Decorations (4/13/23 Thursday to 4/15/23 Saturday): 

A few days before the start of CPW, the German House put their CPW events outside our kitchen as a small prank. Other communities in New House were also postering in various places around the dorm. But was there a more creative and attractive way to entice some prefrosh to come to LMF instead of other places in New House? Anson '26 was quite creative by creating an extremely long paper trail in the French colors of red, white, and blue. This trail started from the New House desk and went up from the first floor of Tower 1 to the outside of the LMF kitchen on the fourth floor. 

It is truly a wonder how the paper trail was taped and made. 

Face Morph Pictures (May): 

Anson '26 put a face morph picture of two roommates on the door of each double in LMF. The accuracy of each picture varied, with some looking 50/50 of each person while others looked more like one person over the other. Some faces looked real and familiar, like Melissa '23+1 and Ashley '23 's, while others looked like an AI generated one like Lila '25 and Kate '25 's. The face morph pictures were an amusing topic to discuss in the LMF kitchen. 

A face morph of Melissa '23+1 and Ashley '23

Conclusion: 

While this blog post doesn't cover some key events of LMF like Dîner de Nöel or Senior Brunch, the events covered in this blog are unique and memorable. I can't wait to see what will happen in my next two years at LMF with this community of wonderful people.